Central Railway officials bail out Chennai students in crisis

Nagpur: The Nagpur division of Central Railway on Wednesday took the initiative to help 60 students from Chennai, and permitted them to board the train from Nagpur though their boarding was scheduled at Ballarshah.
The derailment of a goods train on Tuesday night between Raghavapuram and Ramagundam under the South Central Railway (SCR) had disrupted train traffic, and over 52 trains passing through Nagpur division were diverted on Wednesday.
The 12622 Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express, in which these students were booked to travel, was among the affected trains. The group was in Tadoba from November 11-13 and was returning on Wednesday from Tadoba after attending nature education camps and a wildlife safari.
"On Wednesday, around 11.30am, we learned about the closure of the route owing to a major derailment. Anxious about the fate of the students, I contacted Central Railway DRM Manish Agarwal, who directed SrDCM Aman Mittal to assist the students," said Himanshu Bagde, who was the coordinator of the Tadoba trip.
"We were instructed to board the TN Express at Gondia, as the train had been diverted via Gondia, Durg, and further. However, it would have taken 5 hours to reach Gondia from Tadoba, and the group of students would have missed the train. Hence, we opted to catch the train at Nagpur, to which railway officials consented. They were also willing to hold the train for some time to accommodate the students on the train," said Bagde.
When Bagde telephoned, the train had already departed from Pandhurna, and time was fast running out. The group proceeded for Nagpur and arrived at the railway station around 3pm, close to the train's scheduled arrival at Nagpur. However, the students were fortunate to discover the train was running four hours behind schedule and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Under normal circumstances, if the students had failed to make it, they would have encountered significant difficulties with food and accommodation," said Bagde.
The derailment resulted in the cancellation of several trains in SCR, while 52 mail/express trains passing through Nagpur division were diverted. The Nagpur-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express was also cancelled on Wednesday.